Effects of electron scatterings on thermal conductivity of thin metal films

Abstract

In the framework of the statistical conduction models for polycrystalline and monocrystalline metal films, the thermal conductivity due to electron transport is calculated under the further assumption that the electron relaxation time in the bulk material depends on electron energy. It is shown that the same function describes the size effect in thermal and electrical conductivities, and that the Wiedemann-Franz law holds for any electron scattering in thin metal films.